Senate Judiciary reviews draft rewriting sealing and expungement rules; staff to amend language

The Senate Judiciary committee on Feb. 26 reviewed draft 4.2 of bill 12, which changes when criminal records are sealed or expunged, narrows who may access sealed records, and creates a shortened petition timeline for people who were ages 18–21 at the time of an offense. Committee members instructed legislative staff to refine language on procedures for law-enforcement and defense access, add cross-references to an existing civil-penalty statute, and circulate an edited draft.

Committee members said the revised draft treats most qualifying offenses as misdemeanors and, for conduct that is no longer criminal, provides for expungement rather than sealing. "For the offenses that are no longer crimes, those records would be expunged, not sealed," Michelle Child, legislative counsel in the Office of Legislative Council, told the committee as she walked through changes introduced in the new draft.

Why it matters: the bill alters the practical effect of recent decriminalization and changes how sealed criminal-history records are accessed by government actors and defense counsel. Committee discussion focused on balancing privacy for people whose conduct is no longer criminal with law-enforcement needs to investigate present crimes.

Most significant changes and committee directions

- Expungement vs. sealing: Draft 4.2 converts…